1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunication systems and more particularly to a method and system for providing additional information associated with a calling party""s telephone number.
2. Background of the Invention
Subscribers to telephone services often subscribe to services such as xe2x80x9ccaller IDxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccaller ID deluxexe2x80x9d that provide the subscriber with the telephone number or the name and telephone number, respectively, of the calling party. The telephone number and name of the calling party are usually shown on a display mounted on, or otherwise in communication with, the subscriber""s telephone handset. An example of such a display is an LCD screen that displays one or more lines of information. Services such as caller ID or caller ID deluxe do not provide any way for the subscriber to receive any additional information that the calling party may want to provide to the subscriber.
The present invention provides subscribers with the ability to obtain additional information from the calling party. Subscribers to a service such as calling party ID are provided with a universal resource locator (URL), that uniquely identifies a web site or other information source maintained by the calling party.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, when a telephone call reaches a subscriber""s handset, the telephone network provides an indication that additional information could be provided upon request. For example, the number shown on the handset""s caller ID display could include a special character, such as an xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d (or another indication such as underlining or blinking) that would serve as an indication that additional information could be available upon request. For example, the network might add the xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d at the end of the calling party""s telephone number. The xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d (or the underlining or other indication) notifies the subscriber that the calling party has made additional information available. This additional information may be obtained preferably by accessing a website (or alternatively from another information source). Preferably, the handset is a xe2x80x9csmartphonexe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cbrowser phonexe2x80x9d such as a W@P handset (a handset that meets the standards of the W@P forum, described below). However, the present invention will work with any communication device that allows two-way communication, such as cellular telephones, two-way pagers, caller ID boxes with two-way capability, ISDN telephones, VOIP telephones and POTS telephones with browser capabilities.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the subscriber requests the additional information by using a softkey or entering a special code that initiates the service. Alternatively, the device may have a special hard key that initiates the service, in which case the subscriber just presses the special hard key on the handset to initiate the service. The request activates a program on the handset that initiates an internet protocol (IP) connection to, e.g., a web server or other database. Preferably, the program is a Java or Wireless Markup Language (WML) script program. The subscriber can initiate the request either while the telephone is ringing (before answering the call), during the call, while the number is displayed (if the handset can simultaneously support a voice call and an IP session), or recalling numbers of calling parties stored in the handset""s memory after a call has been missed (and noting that certain calling party numbers have an xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d at the end of the number).
The program initiates a request from the handset through the wireless network and over the internet to a database. The request includes the calling party""s number, and preferably also includes the called party""s telephone number. The database maintains a table associating the telephone numbers of the calling parties"" numbers with URLs, and will be referred to herein as the URL database. The subscriber""s telephone is linked to the website identified by the URL associated with the calling party""s number, which is maintained by the calling party. The website will be referred to herein as the calling party""s website. At this point, the subscriber""s handset is in communication with the calling party""s website. The subscriber""s handset then downloads the information stored on the calling party""s website for display on the subscriber""s handset.
When the request includes the subscriber""s telephone number as well as the calling party""s telephone number, the information downloaded to the subscriber could depend on the subscriber""s telephone number. Either the database itself could screen data requests and send the requests to different websites (or to different pages on one website) depending on the subscriber""s telephone number, or the website could send the request to different pages at the website depending on the subscriber""s telephone number. For example, if the website is maintained by a construction company, it could be used to send one set of additional information to the company""s engineers, another set to the contractors, and a third set to the suppliers. In another example, subscribers included in a list of telephone numbers stored at the website (e.g., the company""s employees) could receive additional information that is different from the information that would be received by others.
Accordingly, the present invention provides calling parties with a fast and efficient method for providing additional information to subscribers using websites on the internet. It allows calling parties to add to, modify and/or delete the additional information independently of the telephone network. It also allows calling parties flexibility in selecting URLs and allows parties calling from several telephone numbers to use the same URL, instead of requiring the specific use of the calling party""s telephone number as part of the URL. Furthermore, with the present invention, the subscribers may be directed to different URLs, depending on the subscriber""s telephone number.